Category Archives: Shropshire Union Canal

Vegging Out. 30th April

Almost Lockdown Mooring 4 to Marsh Lane Winding Hole to Almost Lockdown Mooring 4

Yesterday I’d checked with the greengrocer about what time they start delivering their veg boxes, luckily for us it wasn’t too early so we didn’t need to set an alarm clock. We had our usual cuppa in bed and then set off back to bridge 95 not quite a mile away.

Here we hunted for the holes in the concrete edge we’d made yesterday. Mick found the one for the stern, but try as I might at the bow it hid from me, only showing itself when we pushed off later! Once our spikes were in we made better note of where they were for next week.

Time for breakfast, we could have been there for half an hour or right into the afternoon, but fortunately it was the former. Around 10:20 I got a phone call to say our box had arrived. Mick got out and waved, our box was laid on the towpath for Mick to pick up so that distances could be maintained. The chap said he does a big delivery to a boater at Venetian Marina which then gets passed on along the Middlewich Branch. This is where I’d got the idea from, the local Covid-19 Boaters group on facebook.

What had we got? I was excited!

I’d requested no cauliflower, but some garlic and a sweet potato. The rest was a mystery, a £15 mystery.

1 lettuce, 1 very long cucumber, a bag of new potatoes, 2 huge parsnips, a bag of carrots, 1 sweet potato, 2 bulbs garlic, 1 aubergine, 1 small butternut squash, a bag of tomatoes, 3 bunches of spinach, 2 onions, 1 red onion and some broccoli. That would certainly keep us going until next week.

Clem’s (or Nantwich Veg Boxes) does different sized boxes, some just veg, some just fruit, some a mixture. I’d gone for £15 veg as that is roughly what I’d spent on their market stall a few weeks ago. Next week I suspect we might still have a few bits left so I’ll try a mixed box of a similar size and see what lies within one of those.

If we could put together a big enough butchers delivery then we’d only have to use the supermarkets for pasta, rice, flour, milk etc. oh and wine boxes! Mick managed to get another Sainsbury’s click and collect at the weekend so any gaps we have will be filled with a bike trip along with getting our Saturday newspaper. Plain gluten free flour however is proving to be impossible to get unless ordered direct from Doves Farm in a 16kg bag!

As we’d be needing to top up with water in a day or two we decided to headed on into Nantwich today, cutting down on our movements. I walked to give me calf muscle a stretch.

All the Blackthorn blossom has gone, but is now being replaced by Hawthorn, weighing down the branches so they almost meet the Cow Parsley reaching up from the towpath. I suspect in a few days time the blossom will be fantastic, Narnia in May. We’ve often been up near Crick and Houdini’s Field at this time of year and some of the stretches are glorious.

Rubbish and water dealt with we pootled on to the winding hole, turned and headed back out of town to Hurleston. We could see a very big black cloud heading our way, would we make it in time without getting wet. Sadly no.

The boat that had been in the spot we’ve started to call home had moved on this morning before we left, but this afternoon had been replaced by another. We knew we’d fit in the gap, so resumed sharing rings.

Time to plan our menu for the next week. Eating up the more perishable veggies first. We don’t tend to eat that much salad, but we may do over the coming weeks. Chicken Curry new style, salmon and spinach pasta will use the spinach up. Just how to shoe horn the glut of potatoes into everything. Well tonight we had fish pie with a mash topping (I normally do a crumble top) with a nice side salad.

During the evening I started sewing the button band onto my treat cardigan. This took quite a few goes to get right to start with, but it just about worked out before bed. I just need to finish the end with a few rows of blue, then just a few finishing touches, find those buttons I bought in Devizes, block it and it will be ready to wear. I seem to have enough yarn left over to possibly make a matching hat too, bonus!

0 locks, 5.5 miles, 2 winds, 2 straights, 1 cruise before breakfast, 1 box of fresh yummyness (see above for item numbers), 1 ray of hope, 1 full water tank, 0 rubbish, 1 big bag of recycling, 1 weeks menus just about planned, 1 cardi nearly done, 3 hours shore leave, 1 new neighbour, 3 pooh buckets on the towpath.

Delivery!!! 29th April

Lockdown Mooring 4 to Bridge 95 (pick up point) to not quite Lockdown Mooring 4

Sorry Tilly! We’ve a rendez vous.

Today we had our first food delivery coming to the boat from Morrisons. We’ve not used them before so waited to see what happened with substitutes etc. Mick received an email listing things that weren’t available and what we would be getting instead.

After the last few weeks of sunny sunny weather I’d included a few things for a barbecue. Our mooring means we can hug the hedge and still have at least 7 meters between us and the boat for people to pass. But on the substitutes list they had swapped salmon steaks for some that are already cooked and some Halloumi was coming with added chilli (it might be nice on a barbecue!). As the weather has changed it won’t matter anyway. My choice of white wine was swapped for another, but so long as it’s not Riesling or Liebfraumilch it will be fine.

So after breakfast we pushed off to cruise not quite a mile to the pick up point. We pulled in as close to the gate by the bridge as possible. Here is an ideal spot for a delivery, a layby and gate to reach the towpath, except the towpath is mostly concrete so it took quite a bit of effort to get spikes in. Now we could settle.

The delivery arrived seven minutes into our allotted slot. The chap was relieved to spot us so easily and quickly, he’d thought it would be tricky. He chatted away as he unloaded the crates at his van and then brought our shopping to us in plastic bags. Having the hatch to the towpath meant it was easy to see what was in each bag. So I verbally sorted things, those items that can sit in the cratch for a few days and those that would need to come in and be dealt with before being stowed.

The wine cellar has moved for a few days, but is now restocked and we now can all go to the toilet as we have a fresh supply of cat litter for both bucket and box. I hasten to add we had only been running low on stocks, and had not had to reuse it!

With it just starting to rain we decided to make a move and return to our mooring before it got worse. No winding hole until Nantwich ahead of us and a big sign on the wide stretch just behind us saying no winding we decided to reverse the third of a mile to Poole Hill Winding Hole to turn. Back to Hurleston to wind again in the heavier rain.

Lockdown Mooring 4 had been taken by someone, a familiar boat from a week or so ago. The 48hr mooring now had three boats on it, all nicely socially distanced, leaving enough room for us between them. We pulled into the first gap, gaining slightly different views from the windows.

In our old boating life we would automatically pull up and share a ring leaving no ‘git gaps’. But in this new world it’s better not to share rings if you can possibly help it, leaving a ‘good gap’ instead. However we had no choice today, both ends of Oleanna had to share rings with long outies.

Tilly was warned that should she think we were still the end boat she’d be getting on someone elses boat and they have a woofer! The rain put her off somewhat anyway. No amount of head nudges would make it dry up.

As the afternoon went on the sun made an appearance. The skies turned from dark grey to bright blue and Tilly ventured back out, returning damp at the edges.

I’ll stay here if it’s raining thank you

During the day I received a friend request on facebook along with a message. I’m glad the message came as the penny wouldn’t have dropped otherwise. Thirty seven years ago I occasionally trod the boards with a local amateur dramatic group, Rowntree Players. I appeared in three pantos, Puss in Boots, Babes in the Wood and Humpty Dumpty. The request had come from the chap who played Humpty Dumpty, I have to say he wasn’t very round. By the end of the day I’d managed to find a publicity photo with both Gary and myself. Lovely to hear from him.

We seem to have ended up with a lot of potatoes. We already had an almost new bag under the steps, we now have a very new bag in the cratch and tomorrow we are likely to get even more as we have a veg box delivery. So instead of sweet potato wedges tonight with our chilli we had normal potato wedges. These were a hit, not quite chips, but the next best thing for a while.

This evening we watched the first episode of the new Van Der Valk. We like crime dramas and he does have a really rather lovely boat, so it ticks lots of boxes. Wonder when we’ll be able to go to Amsterdam next?

0 locks, 1.75 miles, 0.33 in reverse, 2 winds, 3 flags to 1, 6 boxes wine, 10 litres litter, 1 disturbance, 4 occupied, 1 slightly confused cat, 7 amended poses, 1 big jump, 37 years, 1 humpty dumpty, 1 button band nearly knitted.

Rainy Days And Tuesdays. 28th April

Lockdown Mooring 4

Tuesday, yes it’s Tuesday.

Living up to the forecast it rained today. Not huge torrential downpours, the sort you get just as you have started a flight of locks without your waterproofs handy, but just constant rainfall. Tilly wasn’t too bothered to start with, but soon found the stove more attractive than being outdoors.

Time to try out the new loaf of bread. As much as it was tempting to slice it open last night, it is best to let the loaf cool down fully. Gluten free bread doesn’t have the large air pockets you get in ordinary sourdough, it has a moist crumb to it too. I’d have liked a little bit more rise in the loaf, but once sliced into it looked okay. The bottom didn’t look quite as dense as the sorghum loaf I tried before.

Toasting a couple of slices takes far more time than ordinary bread, Mick always gets concerned with the amount of gas being used. Someone has suggested toasting it in a dry frying pan. Might give that a go sometime. Having taken an age to toast it also retains it’s heat very well, I like my butter to melt into toast so there always used to be a rush, now I can take my time so as not to burn my fingers.

Verdict. Very tasty. I prefer it to the sorghum loaf. Worth waiting for, well I wish I hadn’t had to keep the starter going so long, hoping for more bubbles. We’ll now see what happens with my starter the next time I want to bake, I’ve gone for the scrapings method!

In the afternoon we had a walk up the locks together, across the back of the reservoir to the post box. Then we walked a touch further along the road to reach the layby where the egg farm lives.

Approaching from the road we got to see more signs. I especially loved this one.

Still stocked up with eggs we didn’t need any, but if there is going to be a cooked breakfast on the cards soon I quite fancy a poached ducks egg.

In the back field were lambs with their mums and today we spotted by a pond some Mandarin Spring Roll Ducks along with others that were something other than Mallards or Muscovy ducks.

The day wasn’t conducive to working. Instead we went to the theatre. The National Theatre, to watch Twelfth Night with Tamsin Grieg. A modern version with a pyramidal revolving set which almost had pages that could be opened in different ways to provide different locations. Tamsin as Malvolia was brilliant as was the rest of the cast, some really rather lovely suits on stage too, I wonder how much detail the audience sat in their seats could see.

Designer Soutra Gilmour. Lighting Design James Farncombe

We watched the first half in the afternoon, followed by the news conference from Downing Street, our evening meal and then we watched the second half. I much prefer Shakespeare’s Comedies, if it had been a history play I don’t think we’d have bothered. A great production, costumes, acting, set, music. Well worth watching before it’s gone.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 damp walk, 1 scraggy woofer, 1 amendment posted, 2 slices, 1 nice loaf, 2hrs 40 minutes of Shakespeare, 2 twins (they tend to come in twos), 1 revolving set, 1 good show.

Closing Down. 27th April

Lockdown Mooring 4

Today notices from C&RT have been coming into our inbox regarding the closure of lock flights due to low water levels in reservoirs. Levels have been kept low at reservoirs on the Leeds and Liverpool and the Macclesfield due to essential maintenance works. Now with the lack of rainfall, the levels will remain low, so not enough water at the beginning of the boating season to sustain normal boat movements.

As we’re not meant to be moving anywhere anyway it seems sensible for measures to be taken to conserve as much water as possible. So all the locks between Wigan and Bingley, and either end of the Macc are being padlocked and ashed up tomorrow lunchtime and measures are being taken so that vandalism won’t be possible.

So when the lockdown ends (which I don’t think will be anytime soon) we won’t be able to cross the Pennines by any route, the need to do so no longer exists for us, but it would still have been nice to be up on the Leeds Liverpool again. Another thought had been to spend some time on the Macc, but the poor old Macc hasn’t had any luck in the last few years.

Where we go, and when, will stay on the back burner for now, there are other things we need to do whilst the canal network closes down around us.

This morning I decided I’d be making some bread today whether my starter was ready or not. I’ve been watching it closely and it definitely runs to a timetable. Nothing happens for a couple of hours, then it gradually rises over the next hour and a half. At some point in the next half hour it gives up bubbling and sinks again. It hasn’t been as bubbly as I’d liked, maybe my expectations were greater than its own. Maybe what it has been doing is all it will ever achieve and I’ve just been wasting flour. So this morning I fed it and returned the jar to the proving shelf. A timer was set for three hours time.

I re-read the synopsis for panto and took notes. The writer for Rapunzel is the same chap who wrote Aladdin and there are similarities. Along with a tower with one window and no door, I will need to create a Town Square (obligatory), a pub, a galleon and a medieval jousting match.

My calf muscle has been rested for a few days so I decided to see how it would fare walking up the locks whilst the hours ticked by for my starter.

As I approached bridge 97 I could see there was some sort of kerfuffle going on, flapping of wings etc. I carefully walked up the bank to see what I could see. Two male Pheasants sparring with each other. No females standing on the sidelines, just a head bobbing stand off.

One chap looked pristine whilst the others feathers around it’s neck were bedraggled, he certainly wouldn’t have been my choice in such a state. Heads bobbed up and down and only occasionally did claws make contact. Stunning looking birds.

Once they’d made enough room for me to pass I carried on over the bridge and up the flight. Sandra from NB AreandAre had told us about an egg farm at the top of the flight. We already knew of the lady with her few hens, but on the other side of the Llangollen just a bit further along was a whole farm.

A red van was parked with it’s back doors open, a honesty box and prices on the eggs. Medium and Extra Large hens eggs along with some duck eggs. We currently have quite a few eggs on board so it was just as well I didn’t have any money on me. But we’ll be back when we need some. Apparently he normally has around 30 dozen to sell a day. His ladies looked quite happy out the back too.

My calf had survived the journey, so I’ll be taking more short walks for a while.

The timer was just about to go off when I returned. Time to make necessary flour for a loaf. Oats and sunflower seeds needed grinding up and adding to various other starches and flours. I hoped that Maple syrup instead of coconut palm sugar would work. My starter had reached it’s normal maximum, so I poured off enough for the loaf, mixed everything together then put it into a t-towel lined bowl, wrapped it in plastic bag and left it to rise back on the shelf.

The recipe said two hours maximum, but hardly anything had happened. I decided to leave it the three and a half hours my starter normally takes to rise and this proved to be a good idea.

Whilst it did it’s thing Mick worked his way though tax returns all of which mean he owes the tax man nothing again. I dealt with emails about my sketches and ideas for Dark Horses next production #unit21. So a day pretty much like the old days, three projects in one day.

The timer went off the oven and cast iron pot were hot, time to see what baking my loaf would turn out like. The previous recipe had been using sorghum flour and had been a lot firmer, this was with buckwheat and had been like a thick cake batter. I carefully turned it out of it’s bowl onto grease proof paper and scored the top. It started to relax, so I quickly popped it in the pot and into the oven, fingers crossed.

The end product looked not quite as risen as I’d hoped for, but it still showed much more potential than the last loaf I’d made. We’ll have to wait for the morning to see how it has turned out. The remains of my starter have been put into the fridge with the hope that it will pop back into life for the next loaf.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 flight walked up, 10 flights closed, dozens of eggs, 1 last feed, 1 sketch to redo, 5 amendments, 2 uv or not, 9 scenes, 2 boats again, 1 set breakdown, 3.5 hours, 1 loaf with potential, 1 very large friend!

Surprises. 26th April

Lockdown Mooring 4 to Cholmondeston Water Point to Lockdown Mooring 4

A surprise biscuit was added to Tilly’s breakfast this morning. Fewer biscuits than normal too. The surprise biscuit is a touch smaller than the rest, a slightly different shape but a similar colour, that’s if the cut side is turned away from the consumer. The biscuits were put down on Tilly’s mat first thing and checked periodically to see if the surprise had been eaten.

After an hour or so of shore leave the doors were closed, despite the constant whinging the doors stayed shut and we made ready to push off. We reversed under Bridge 97, winded at the bottom of the Hurleston flight and then headed northwards to Barbridge junction.

This morning there hadn’t been as much weedy scum around us, yesterday at times there had seemed to be quite a flow on the cut, maybe intentional to refresh the water. But we soon caught up with the slime where it had congregated.

It’s good to be moving even if just for a short time

I stood at the bow as we approached Barbridge as look out. All was clear as we turned onto the branch. We’ve not been this way for a few weeks, so it was a nice change of scenery.

As we reached the end of the line of moored boats we came across the biggest patch of green so far. Bleurgh!! In a few weeks time will a trip to the water point no longer be an essential reminder of cruising but become one plagued with trips down the weed hatch to clear the prop?

A lady warned us that by Venetian Marina was very busy with boats, but we told her we’d be back shortly as we had no intention of descending the lock. We met NB Halsall close to a bridge, no need of a top up of diesel today, the sun has been doing it’s job with our solar so we’ll last a while longer.

The same boats were still moored towards the lock. As we pulled up the boat nearest the water point had just finished filling up so things were perfectly timed. The bathroom got a good clean as the tank filled. Vessels were also filled, the kettle, the bottle used to rinse the separator on the toilet, the spray bottles topped up too.

This outside looked very good, plenty of fresh green friendly cover. But all they did was get the hose out and give Oleanna a drink. All I was allowed to do was watch from my shelf. Then all too soon the outside was untied and allowed to drift away backwards until Tom turned it round again.

Will we be able to see this couple next time we visit?

Back to the junction and back towards Hurleston. One of the chaps moored by the bottom of the locks has been busy signwriting his boat. He’s been doing a very lovely job, including three coats of yellow paint before adding details and shadows. Yellow is always a bad colour for coverage.

He stood up as we passed saying that he had designed the perspex yellow bike from the Tour de France we have in our window from 2014 at Hebden Bridge. His son had made them. We’d seen them in shops around the town and had managed to hunt down one of the last ones. We’re not ones for plaques, but the yellow bike is a prized possession of ours.

The same two rings were tied to with innies and then the back door opened up.

Surprise Tilly!

We’re in the same outside yet again!!!!

At first she didn’t seem too impressed, the strands of grass she’d not finished eating this morning still sat on the hard edge. After a few minutes of confusedness, she was away through the sideways trees and back in the field hunting out her friends.

0 locks, 5.61 miles, 0.25 in reverse, 2 winds, 1 right, 1 left, 1 wormer consumed, 1 load washing, 0 blackthorn blossom, 5 scummy stretches, 1 coal boat, 1 covid hello,1 full water tank, 1 threatened rain storm, 1 synopsis read, vegetable research required, 1 lazy starter!

Thirteen for Twelve. 24th April

Lockdown Mooring 4

‘Nine and a half hours Tilly and we want to see you at least twenty times today please!’

This sort of fell on deaf ears, well she is a cat! What did I expect!! After an initial roll around to leave her scent Tilly disapeared for a few hours, nowhere to be seen. Calling for her mid morning didn’t work, or maybe it did as she returned about half an hour later to say hello and have a drink, followed by a snooze. I think she was still a bit pooped from yesterday.

Work for me again today. I wanted to get the initial sketches completed so that Amy can peruse them over the weekend, then I can do any amendments that she’d like along with things I’d like to do. Improving hands is top of my list! By the end of the day all sixteen drawings had been scanned and emailed to Leeds.

Mid afternoon an email from Will at Chippy Theatre dropped into my inbox with a synopsis for Rapunzel attached. A Zoom meeting will be arranged to meet the Director next week. This year John Terry is having a break from panto, so David Ashley is taking the reigns.

My sour dough improves with each day time feed, but as the stove is no longer alight it isn’t doing quite so well overnight. I gave it a feed at around midday. It takes a couple of hours before anything starts to happen, then it starts to bubble up the sides of the jar, expanding with air. After about three and three quarter hours it seems to reach it’s peak and within another twenty minutes it has sunk again. I’m hoping that it shows an improvement tomorrow so that I can make a loaf of bread again. But I have to be patient.

During the afternoon I’ve been messaging the greengrocer from the market. They do fruit and veg boxes so we’re going to give one a go. No idea what we’ll get, but when we last did a shop with them at the market I spent around £17, so I’ve ordered a £15 veg box. Their website suggested there were no slots left this month, but because they deliver to a house close to the canal near here we have been added in. Very exciting, just hope we’ll be able to eat it all.

This evening the C&RT boaters update arrived keeping us up to date with what the trust are doing. This is a weekly thing anyway, but today it informed us that around a third of the Trusts staff have taken furlough leave, operational staff remain at full strength to look after the network and support boaters needs. They are starting to do aquatic weed management, I wonder if that will happen here?

They are also extending current boat licences for a month from their current expiry date. So our licence which should run out at the end of March will now last us until the end of April next year. Wonder how they are doing this for Gold licence holders?

I so wish I could stretch like that, it looks so good.

Tilly decided to come home for a snooze during the afternoon. Waking with an hour left of shore leave she sat at the back doors gently reminding us she was there. Mick and I looked at each other and decided that it was actually dingding time and the back doors today would remain shut!

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 walk round the reservoir, 1 leg rested on board, 2 calls from Val, 16 sketches scanned, 0 car accident that wasn’t my fault, 20 page synopsis, 3.75 hours optimum rise, 1 veg box sneaked in, 13 months for the price of 12.

Remote Control. 23rd April

Lockdown Mooring 4

An alteration to my routine was called for. I tend to get into work in the afternoons and because of that and wanting to listen to what is being said at the daily press conference from London I keep missing out on a walk. So I decided to rearrange my day a touch, heading out for a walk returning for lunch, then I could get on with work.

Today I plotted a route to walk, around three miles with the aim of seeing a house I’ve not noticed from the canal before, Wardle Old Hall which sits at Bridge 101 of the Shropshire Union Canal. Most of the route I’d be covering I’ve done a few times now but that can’t be helped, so I chose to cross over the canal and return across the fields to Stoke Manor.

Recently people have been saying how clear the water has been looking with the lack of boat movements. Sadly that is not the case here. Boats still move for shopping, water etc, but there is far far less movement than there normally would be on the Four Counties Ring. Instead of the canal clearing so we can see the fish and what lies below our hulls the canal is growing murkier and thicker. Last night we’d noticed a layer of scum which was starting to collect trapped by the bridge hole behind us. Today the start of weed was very evident along my route up towards Barbridge.

There was lots of activity on the side of the reservoir. At least eight Fountains employees were cutting the grass and trimming the nettles working their way round the two boats now moored there. I did a double take as one lawnmower was moving around by remote control. I’ve seen the little robot mowers before in peoples gardens, but this was a fully grown up big cutting machine a chap walking alongside directing it with a joy stick. At least he was getting his excersise without having to man handle the big mower along the slopes. I was then surprised to see another chap walking his way round the steeper sections of the bank with a mower, maybe the big one is too heavy to get to the top.

Onwards towards Barbridge I walked, the earlier time of day meaning there were fewer people about. I got just past Stokehall Bridge when a muscle in my left calf went ping! Damn!! This has happened before, several times, normally during the colder months. I took a few steps further, not as bad as it’s been before, but I shouldn’t antagonise it more than I had to. I’d managed a mile and was turning round before I’d reached my goal, a hobble back to Oleanna.

Wild Garlic. I’d like to find a patch of it away from the towpath and make some pesto

Another four sketches were achieved, some closer images which require better faces. Some looked good, others not so. The play works it’s way through all four seasons and I was a little bit unsure as to when we went into Autumn, a quick text to Amy and that was sorted.

My sourdough starter was fed and returned to the proving shelf whilst the excess was mixed with several different flours, milk, cocoa and chocolate.

Baked in the oven for 25 minutes, then left a short while to cool just enough. The result was good, but could have been a touch better. I’d had to substitute the main flour for rice flour which tends to be a touch thirstier, so this may have dried the mixture out a touch too much. Next time, if I’m allowed to use so much chocolate again, I’ll reduce the amount of arrowroot and add a touch more milk to see if that improves things.

Listening to the press conference we both commented on how badly Matt Hancock was delivering his spiel today, he had no idea of what he was saying, he can’t have read it before hand. We listen to what is being said at these conferences and find ourselves commenting at the TV, our comments are getting louder and LOUDER each day!

We’d not seen Tilly for most of the day, she’d returned home for a drink and a short snooze mid afternoon, but now cat curfew time was getting close. A quick call along the towpath didn’t work, so I hobbled down through the gap into the field. More calls. She wasn’t along the left perimeter where she’s popped out from the last few times. I called and called.

Maybe she had gone to climb the trees in the centre of the field?

Was that a Crow over there? On the other side of the field? It was too big for a crow. It moved so it wasn’t an inanimate object.

I got Mick to pass me the camera and zoomed in on the black shape walking away. That black shape had four white paws and holey tights!

TILLY!!!!!!!!

NO acknowledgement what so ever, just a swifter walk away from me. At least we knew where she was. Should we leave her to come home on her own? No, we knew she would now be tiered, tired like a little kid who won’t go to bed giving you all the excuses that you can see straight through. Oh for a remote control cat! We could turn her round and bring her back straight across the field!

Instead Mick put his shoes on, decided that going to the right would be the shortest route around the boundary to get to Tilly. Off he set. Ten or so minutes later I phoned him. Tilly was on the other side of a hedge from him doing the toddler thing and meowing about being busy! No point in trying to pick her up because she’d find enough energy to wriggle herself free and then be far FAR too busy to come home. Words of encouragement were the only way forward.

A while later I hobbled back to the gap to see what progress had been made. They were on the opposite side of the field now, Tilly was leading the way home following her scent, the longer way round the field. I tried shouting, but neither Tilly or Mick could hear me. Back to chopping veg up for a stir fry.

Then half an hour after Mick had set off I could hear his ~~no quite so~~ encouraging words just on the other side of the hedge. Time for me to take over.

As she popped her head out from the sideways trees I could see just how exhausted she was. Luckily she knew the best thing to do was come inside and have some food and a drink. Then she took herself away into the bedroom where she curled up for the night only to be disturbed once by us making the bed up.

I wonder where she’ll get to tomorrow!

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 remote control lawnmower, 1 miles there, 1 ping, 1 hobbling mile back, 1tsp maple syrup, 4 sketches, ? more figures just to impress, 12 brownies, 2 shouting boaters, 1 shouting cat lady, 1 cat just visible, 0.75 miles walk for Mick, 1 totally exhausted cat, 0 lap sitting tonight.

A Month Of Sundays. 22nd April

Lockdown Mooring 4

All back to the new normal today. Game of pen, followed by feline shore leave rules, breakfast, towpath murder etc.

At times in the old normal, it was hard to determine what day of the week it was, ‘Today is Thursday?’ is one of the phrases that was used quite often on Oleanna. Somehow we knew we’d reached the mid point of the week, but not quite certain which side of it we were on. Our Saturday newspaper would help a touch, anchoring one day a week for us.

But things in the new normal are not quite the same. Every day feels like a Sunday, we are of course correct one day out of seven. Now that we have had a whole month of the new normal I decided to unwrap the pork joint we’d got and let it rest in the fridge all day to roast this evening. I actually know it’s Wednesday but today it could be Sunday.

Troubles towing after turning the corner

More work for me whilst Tilly went out exploring. She found a friend and brought it back to sit on the towpath next to Oleanna. For once she didn’t bother to consume it as a snack and just left it for passersby to admire. One lady wasn’t too impressed! Maybe it will keep people away from us.

Quite a few more boats moving today, including two that came down the locks. It turned out one was towing the other. Wonder how far they are heading?

Mick had a walk up to the reservoir this afternoon. We’ve been keeping an eye on the damp patch of towpath below the bottom lock at Hurleston. A C&RT chap had said it was due to an artesian well alongside the lock. Most of the time we’ve been here the lock has been left full, but the other day the last boat to go through the flight came down, leaving it empty over night.

The following day we walked up to have a look and compare the towpath. There was still a little trickle seeping out but the whole area was far drier than when the lock had been left full. We’re considering sending the photos in to C&RT as to us it looks like there is a leak.

Mick returned from his walk with a box of eggs. At the top of the reservoir there is a house that keeps chickens and the lady charges £1 for half a dozen. We’d seen other people walking with egg boxes and now we know where they’d come from.

My sourdough starter had a feed this morning. I’m using the 1:1:1 method to try to get it back rising and frothy. 1 part starter, 1 part water, 1 part brown rice flour. It has turned the corner and grows for the first three hours then deflates. It just isn’t growing enough yet to bake with. So I decided to give it a third fee today to see if that would help. I’ve retained the excess to make some brownies with tomorrow. Thank you for the link to the scrapings method Jerry. I need to get my starter fully frothed then I’ll give it a go.

As the joint cooked I was going to watch Orlando a broadcast via the ICA. The information about it suggested that it could be useful for a project that might happen next year as the film incorporated projection and live costume changes. But sadly even though our internet seemed to be fine the picture froze. After a few minutes I decided that it wasn’t an artistic element of the film and gave up.

0 locks, 0 miles, 6 eggs, 3 chutney recipes passed on, 3 feeds, 1 mouse for all to see, 9 hours shore leave, 2 new neighbours, 5 sketches, 1.5kg pork joint, gas mark 7 for 50 minutes, 10 more scored lines, 1 vast amount of crackling, 1 month, 31 Sundays, how many more to come?

PS. Who’s daughter lives in the house that we walked past with Tilly? You didn’t leave your name.

Short Of Nothing We’ve Got. 20th April

Nantwich Embankment

As we’re near a water point the washing machine was put to work whilst we had breakfast, another load would be needed before the drawer was empty again.

Mick headed off to Sainsburys with a bike and lots of shopping bags leaving me to walk in on my own for a few bits. The Alms Houses on Welsh Row are even prettier than before, their gardens growing greener every day. Forget-me-nots and bluebells contrasting with the red paintwork. I think they are my favourite buildings in Nantwich. They just need a visit from Frank Matthews to replace the spikes on their roofs.

In town I first visited Holland and Barrett being asked to wait outside until someone left. A chap on a bike joined the queue behind me saying he’d had short shrift from a lady in a different queue earlier today. She’d bitten his head off rather than give him a polite answer and a smile to his question. He preferred our queue.

Tulips and Wallflowers, they remind me of Rowntrees in York

Holland and Barrett was the first shop I came across to bring in measures to protect everyone, and with each visit they add more. Today I was invited to use some hand sanitiser as I walked in, both members of staff wearing masks. They had brown rice flour but no gluten free plain flour. Two bags bought and I was quickly out of the shop, I can now see if I can persuade my sourdough starter to come back to life with the aid of a cabbage leaf.

Next the bakers. Mick is very partial to cheese twists from Sainsburys, sadly they hadn’t been available when our shopping was picked this morning. There also hadn’t been time to pre-order a pork pie from Clewlows, so a cheese and onion pasty and a medium pie would have to do instead.

Boots to stock up on eye drops, at the till they had some hand sanitizer so that was added to my basket. Then round the bend to Home Bargains where I joined the orderly queue down the side of the building. As I neared the front door Mick came past pushing our click and collect order. A quick once around the shop and I’d found hand wash and some new clothes pegs, we could now hang the washing out with confidence.

Back at Oleanna, Tilly was closed in the bedroom whilst all Micks shopping came in, disinfected and stowed. Then she was locked out of the bedroom as I brought my shopping in, then back in the bedroom as the final items were disinfected.

Sadly for Tilly we’ve decided to stay in Nantwich another night so for some of the afternoon we had to cope with her protestations at the back doors. Once she’d visited her pooh box she calmed down a touch.

Tomorrow she will get a fresh box, she’s really done her best to use shore based facilities and this lot of litter still has life in it even after three weeks! As a treat her escape pod came out, I was told off for not getting the roof on it quick enough though! This can only mean one thing, a river cruise. Hooray!!!

The whirligig was put up with washing on it, but during the afternoon the wind got up, making sound effect noises at our windows. Despite having new clothes pegs Mick decided to put the washing on hangers in the pram cover, safer than having to fish it out from the cut!

Some more work on my illustrations this afternoon. One I was very pleased with, another not so. Faces either work really well for me or take several attempts. On the virtual poses I’ve been using, the head of one of the characters seems to be a touch too big for her body so I’m having to adjust it as I go. Still plenty more to do.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 bike of shopping, 1 pleasant queue, 1 pasty, 1 pie, 1 lot of eye drops, 2 bags flour, 0 plain flour, 1 big pork joint, 1 red cabbage, 1 leaf, 2 loads washing, 1 escape pod, 1 happy cat, 3 illustrations, 2 episodes of The Nest.

Thinning News. 19th April

Lockdown Mooring 4 to Nantwich Embankment.

Our Saturday paper is getting thin. It must be half the weight it used to be, no travel section and sport is now in the main body of the paper. The blind date is now virtual with a take away, although the chap this week couldn’t make up his mind whether to eat with his date or flat mates afterwards, he then opted to get a takeaway! She’s better off without him.

In the food section was a Lockdown Larder special. I have a lot of the ingredients needed, but only one recipe really took my fancy, chocolate fudge tart. This requires Hobnob biscuits for the base, none in our larder, you can get gluten free ones, or you used to be able to get them pre lockdown! Too many calories though for not much exercise, I’d prefer a cheese scone anyway, or would I?

Mick logged on to Sainsburys this morning to see a load of Click and Collect slots available for tomorrow. Maybe this would do us till our delivery in ten days time. He secured the slot with the obligatory boxes of wine.

Still nothing showing in the Lapwing field

The route to Sainsburys from Hurleston has no pavement along the road, riding a bike is okay, but not pushing one. I’d looked into getting a greengrocer delivery, but there were no slots for the remainder of the month, so that wouldn’t help. Then a plan was formed.

We’d be needing water in the next day or two, so if we cruised into Nantwich to fill the tank then I could visit Holland and Barrett, hopefully stocking up on Brown Rice flour for my sourdough starter and Mick could ride to Sainsburys and push the bike back with a bigger shop along pavements. This would be further than going from our mooring, but safer and preferable to standing in line at Morrisons.

Much of the morning was spent working out menus for the next ten days and what was essential shopping for this period. I had to be careful as items seemed to vanish from our basket every now and again, so I really hope we won’t get two loaves of bread and three bags of parsnips!

With the shopping order done we decided that Tilly would decide when we left for Nantwich. She’d spent most of late morning/early afternoon asleep on the bed and just as we’d decided that we might head into town today she’d woken and headed out! Luckily she returned quite soon, so the doors were locked and we could set off.

She said I needed to stay inside whilst they moved the outside. This is nothing unusual, I prefer it that way. But She told me I had to give my paws a very good clean, She thinks they are filthy and is threatening me with a pedicure. Have to say I quite fancy one of those pedicures where tiny fish come and nibble between your toes. I think the experience would be really rather quite tasty!

As I’ve been sat at a computer for much of the last few days I decided to walk whilst Mick brought Oleanna along. The sun was out and everyone just around the bend at the flag bubble were being busy doing jobs.

It was a pleasant walk, most people kept their distance but there were some exceptions. I’m starting to wonder if children are taught about meters anymore, but then an old chap on a bike almost rubbed shoulders with a lady as they both passed a boat! I’m quite happy to find a wide place to wait for bikes and walkers to come past, but then some people insist on walking two abreast reducing the gap I’d left.

This stretch to Nantwich is becoming really quite familiar now. The green bus looks like there is a drum kit set up on the upper deck and the tractors looked a touch more spread out than before.

I crossed over the bridge to the services which was free and waited for Oleanna to catch up. We disposed of rubbish and refilled the water tank.

Then we pootled across the aqueduct, soon passed another boat who were excited to be heading to the water point for their weekly fill. On down to Marsh Lane Bridge and the winding hole.

Here two swans were enjoying tucking into the extra long grass on the towpath. We turned and headed back across the aqueduct to moor close to the ramp down into town.

Marvelous, time for a couple of hours before curfew! Sorry Tilly, this is Nantwich and Tilly cats don’t go out here! How dull!

After our dinner we sat down to watch Phantom of the Opera. Mick has never seen it and I wanted to have a trip down memory lane and spot the props that I’d made in the past. But it wasn’t to be. For some copyright reason in England it was only available to view for free for 24 hrs! Oh well, I bet the table cloth wasn’t as good as mine! And the candles not as expertly dribbled!

Instead we watched The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. It was an old concert, but with some familiar favourites. We’ve been lucky enough to see them live a couple of times. I suspect we enjoyed them more than we would have enjoyed Phantom.

0 locks, 3.42 miles, 1.8 miles walked, 1 thin newspaper, 11am slot, 4 boxes, 1 veg box enquiry, 1 full water tank, 0 rubbish, 1 embankment mooring for the night, 1 bored energy filled cat, 24hr Phantom, 8 Ukuleles, 1 Anarchy in the Uk

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna

Category Archives: Shropshire Union Canal

Vegging Out. 30th April

Delivery!!! 29th April

Rainy Days And Tuesdays. 28th April

Closing Down. 27th April

Surprises. 26th April

Thirteen for Twelve. 24th April

Remote Control. 23rd April

A Month Of Sundays. 22nd April

Short Of Nothing We’ve Got. 20th April

Thinning News. 19th April